Biggest Fear
by Nu1
Summary: Domon finds a fear that he cannot face with his fists, and manages to drive Rain away. But through the help of Gareth and a scientist named Walter he will find a way to win Rain back and face the challenge of the 14 gundam fight. But even when he succee
1. Memmories

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN G GUNDAM!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chapter I: Memories

A slight wind washed through the trees as Domon looked out at his opponent, a heavily built man from Neo-Ireland with long red hair tied back behind his head. His pale green eyes glared like ice back at Domon, cutting daggers into his soul, for he had, countless times, seemed to understand some of Domon's deepest fears. He seemed like the new Schwartz Brü der on several occasions, and he was, like the old one, apparently a very powerful warrior, and a worthy opponent. The battle that was now looming, lost in the shadows of the surrounding forest and whispered of in the slight rustling of the trees. 

"Are you ready Domon?" the man asked.

"If you are, Gareth," Domon responded. When they had first met, while Domon was castigating himself for running away, though he didn't quite know what from, Domon had had the urge to challenge Gareth, for he had seen his incredible strength and skill with a sword. Now, this battle was finally to come about, and Domon could scarcely keep his mind from wandering back to their first meeting. It seemed like yesterday when Gareth had first come to him during his rampage.

He remembered the day very clearly, a swift wind racing through the forest, pushing angrily against the trees, who merely bent over, relenting to the fury. The sky above was black, as if in enmity against the world, sending down the powerful wind, the biting rain, and the explosions of lightning and thunder. Domon ran over the soaked and muddy ground, blinded by the rain and the dark and stumbling over the sticky, uneven mire and protruding roots, the sticks and limbs clawing at him. Inside he still burned with the fiery miasma of anger, a red blaze that clouded his thoughts. And this anger was not aimed towards anyone else; it was an enmity towards his own being. An uncontrollable desire to destroy himself. Why he had come here, he didn't know, nor could he be absolutely certain where 'here' was. 

He looked around, and remembered Rain, the pain of being separated from her ate him up inside; there seemed a hole in the pit of his stomach--almost the same tingling sensation one gets when they fall in some roller coasters--except this had begun to spread over his whole body. How could he have run from her!? Why had he run!? What the hell had he done!? In a rage he punched at a nearby tree, his fist slamming through the thick bark and taking a chunk out of the tree trunk in a small explosion of splinters. He looked down at his hand, the blood pouring from the torn away skin, and it stung especially where his salty tears mingled with the ripped flesh. It soon became impossible for him to see through the welling of tears that filled his eyes, and the excruciating pain that overcame him, massively outweighing the pain of his mangled hand, became almost unbearable. Exhausted from running, and drained from sadness and anger, Domon fell to the ground and leaned back against the tree, the dark miasma of unconsciousness overcoming him quickly.

It was as the pure light of morning began to wash the dark, damp forest clean that Domon first met Gareth, for it was when the light hit him that he awoke inside a small cabin made of wood that seemed to emit a faint, woody smell because of the rain. Upon looking around, Domon found himself in a warm, soft bed, his hand bandaged with a white fabric. He tried to sit up, but found that his body was loath to comply, pain shooting through his muscles. It was now that he was realizing how hard he had pushed his body. 

"Now don't try to sit up," a huge man said, coming over to him. From this angle he looked like a man who would dwarf even the largest man he had ever seen, and he was, in fact, the largest man Domon had ever met. "You pushed your body far past the breaking point, and you did quite a number on your hand there. What were you doing out there?"

"I… I don't want to talk about it," Domon responded, turning away from the man.

"You know, I saved your life… you could at least tell me your name."

"Domon… Domon Kashu."

"_The _Domon Kashu… the winner of the Gundam fights?"

"Yes."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Gareth O'Leary. The name really gives away where I'm from doesn't it."

"I don't care."

"Now that's no way to treat the man who saved your life. Who knows where you'd be if I left you out in the rain?"

"Well… thank you."

"See, now that's better. And why won't you tell me what you were doing out there in the first place."

"Nothing!"

"You're hear to train aren't you?" Gareth asked, giving Domon a way out of this line of questioning.

"Yes…" he lied.

"Alright, as soon as your body recovers, maybe I can help you train."

But even then he knew. Domon had learned that Gareth often knew more than he let on, and always knew more than you expected. There was something about him… and he would show it not long after Domon recovered. Domon didn't know why he had stayed after his recovery, it seemed to him too late to try and go back to Rain… but to stay with Gareth… Perhaps he was merely looking for a way to resolve his problems--and perhaps part of him knew that Gareth could help. 

His recovery was merely a blur of pain, though soon afterwards, when he began to train with Gareth, Gareth saw something inside of him and he remembered one time that Gareth stopped him from his training and took him aside to try and help him, though he was still less than open with Gareth.

"Your pushing yourself too hard Domon," Gareth had said.

"What do you care!? I can train however I want!" Domon replied in anger.

"I sense and enmity within you. You can't go on like this."

"Just leave me alone."

"Your angry with the world… aren't you? Just tell me why."

"I'm not! Why do you have to keep bothering me? I don't need your help. I'm fine alone. I don't need anyone's help!"

"No one can survive on their own Domon! Everyone needs help sometimes, and that time for you is now. Let me help you."

"I don't need your help!!"

"What is this about. I sense the anger within you. You hate everyone, don't you… and everything. If you continue to go on like this, this path will only lead to your destruction!"

"Fine!! I don't care!"

"You want to destroy yourself, don't you? You did something… what?"

"What are you, a psychiatrist? Why can't you leave me alone?"

"Because you need help."

"I don't need help from anyone…"

Domon was now part of a bet between him and Gareth. In an attempt to get Gareth to leave him alone about what was bothering him, he had challenged him to a battle. If he won, Gareth would have to stop asking Domon about his problems, but if he lost, he would have to tell Gareth about his problems. And that was where they were now--Domon and Gareth about to face off. 

"Alright, Domon… let's go!" Gareth said, charging at Domon with a smile on his face. Reacting first, Domon kicked in a crescent motion at Gareth's head, but he quickly ducked under, delivering a blow to Domon's stomach with all the force of his inertia, sending Domon flying backwards into a nearby tree. Gareth continued to rush forwards, sending a kick to the side of Domon's head, but Domon dodged underneath, launching his heel at Gareth's ankle, which was clad in a thick, black boot, and knocking it out from under him, sending Gareth to the ground as Domon rolled away and leapt to his feet, moving to a fighting stance to prepare for Gareth's next attack. Gareth laughed slightly as he pushed himself to his feet and turned to face Domon.

"…That enmity… the pain in your eyes… I've seen it before…" Gareth said just before he charged Domon again. Domon countered with a flurry of punches, but with nearly superhuman agility, Gareth managed to dodge everyone by only a slight movement, quickly jamming his knee into Domon's stomach and slamming him to the ground with his elbow. Domon spun and fell onto his face, rolling aside just in time to avoid a crushing stomp from Gareth. Now on his back, Domon pushed off the ground from his back, sending both feet into Gareth's face and landing on the ground behind him, doing a summersault into a standing position, from which he turned to face his opponent, who was, somehow, already throwing a punch at him. Domon dodged the punch and punched Gareth a few times in the stomach, but they didn't seem to even phase him. Domon felt a sharp pain in his shoulder as Gareth's foot slammed into it, launching him through the air and into a nearby tree. 

"I've seen it in the mirror…" Gareth continued as Domon struggled to his feet, "When my wife died… You've lost the woman you love, haven't you?"

"No…" Domon lied.

"Yes you have… you drove her away, didn't you! That's why you're angry with yourself. You drove her away."

"NO!" Domon yelled, overcome with anger and rushing madly towards Gareth. He unleashed a hail of punches and kicks upon Gareth, who blocked and dodged them all, finishing it up by punching Domon in the face. But Domon only reeled for a moment, coming back with even greater fury. To escape Domon's rage, Gareth leapt away, up onto the limb of a nearby tree, perching on a limb that seemed not strong enough to support him. Glaring at Gareth angrily, Domon leapt upwards in pursuit, and Gareth leapt away onto another nearby limb. Domon and Gareth kept repeating the process until Domon finally gave up and landed at the foot of one tree and unsheathed his katana. This one a sharp, well polished katana that slashed through the tree trunk with ease. Gareth escaped the falling tree by leaping to the next one, one that Domon also cut down. No matter how thick the trunk, Domon seemed to be able to slice it in two with ease.

"Calm down Domon. I understand your desire to destroy everything, the desire to remove everything from the earth… but you can't let it win. You can't succumb to the enmity or it will eat you up inside. It won't free you from pain, it will magnify the pain until it turns you dark in your heart. It will harden your heart against those who still care about you, and, though it will make you believe it won't let you get hurt again, you will be in constant pain."

"That's easy for you to say. Your wife died, but she still loved you, didn't she? You still have people who care about you. I loved Rain so much, and she hates me now! I ran, I didn't want to run… but I did. I left her and I know she'll never take me back. I've just ruined my life, I will NOT be alone in my pain!" With that, Domon cut down Gareth's latest tree, but instead of fleeing, Gareth dropped to the ground before Domon and unsheathed the sword from his back. A long, massive blade called a bastard sword. Both he and Domon went at one another, their blades coming together with a clang, their faces hovering only inches apart, Domon's eyes filled with malice. Domon then quickly ducked backwards and to the side of Gareth's bastard sword, swinging his katana upwards in a graceful arc towards Gareth's head. Though Gareth dodged, Domon brought the sword at him again, the blade glinting as it sliced through the air. Gareth again managed to dodge, slamming his shoulder into Domon to knock him off balance, and slashed at him. But Domon countered, blocking the sword with the flat of his katana. 

"I won't lose. I was the gundam fight champion. I'm the strongest fighter in the world."

"Do you think that this is what Rain wants?"

"She's more important to me than life, more important than the world. I won't let the world suffer any less than her."

"And do you think she wants the world to suffer? Do you think that hurting the world will make her feel better… or do you think it will make her feel worse? You know the answer. What you're doing will only hurt Rain further. So stop now, before you make another mistake."

"I…" Domon hesitated, not quite knowing how to react or what to do. "I don't want to hurt Rain… but…" He fell to his knees, his eyes on the ground before him, relenting to Gareth. This was a fight he didn't want to win, and so he returned his katana to his sheath. Gareth did the same with his sword.

"Calm down Domon. You can work through this."

That night, Domon started awake from a horrible dream, though it was lost, even then, in the recesses of his mind. There was, however, an image that lingered, even when the rest of the dream had gone. And this image was that of Rain, crying to herself, questioning herself of what she did wrong. The look of sheer pain on her face, or even her imaginary face, brought Domon to tears, and the rage at himself, for causing such pain in the woman he cared for so much, returned to him. Over the next few weeks, he drowned himself in his training. Walling out all the distractions and memories of Rain by endlessly punishing himself with an endless push on his body. Even when the strain on body and mind became unbearable for him, he pushed on. He ran faster and longer than his legs would allow, lifted things far too heavy, and forced his body and mind to operate for inconceivably long hours without rest. He ignored every one of Gareth's pleas to get him to stop, because he had to push himself beyond his limit, he had to punish himself. And after two or three days, when he finally got a few hours of sleep, he cried himself into the realm of nightmares, and all of hurting Rain. He was, in fact, living his worst nightmare. 

---)(---

Alright, my first attempt at a G-Gundam fan fiction. It's been a while since I've seen it so please correct any mistakes I may have made. I don't need you to be kind, I just need constructive criticism so I can try to improve in the future. Alright, let's see what you think.


	2. Nightmare

Disclaimer: Don't own Gundam, working on shiri bakudan, DEATH TO THE ILLUMINATI!!

Chapter 2: Nightmare

Domon's pain and confusion threatened to consume him, and Gareth certainly didn't wish for this to happen, but there was little he could do. Domon was doing everything he could to keep himself from thinking of Rain, but these thoughts came whenever he ate, slept, or stopped hurting, so all those were not an option for him. And to make matters worse, Domon had remembered that the fourteenth gundam fight was going to take place soon, and that scared Gareth, for he knew what could happen to Domon if he kept this pace up in a gundam fight. There was a good chance he would die, and a better chance that he would kill someone. But Domon seemed determined to enter the gundam fight, and being the champion from the last one, few desired to argue. And so, through the phone that Gareth had once offered Domon so that he could contact Rain, Domon managed to set himself back up as the pilot for Neo Japan. And with a goal, Domon trained even harder, not that that was humanly possible, but his current training regimen wasn't humanly possible either so it didn't really stop him. 

Soon, Domon's new gundam was delivered to him: it was the Burning Gundam, but with a few enhancements. Needless to say, Rain had turned down the job on his gundam crew and so a squat nerdy guy with glasses replaced her, though he often kept to himself and stayed out of Domon's way without a word, and Domon couldn't complain… well, not about that anyway. Part of him had expected Rain to be his crew, and that part was disappointed when it wasn't Rain, but the disappointment was nothing that harder training wouldn't block out. Soon, Domon left Gareth's hideaway and went out into the gundam fights, the nerdy guy tagging along as his job required. And he never said anything save 'yeah', 'no', and 'Shut up so I can do my job!' which had only happened twice. 

Domon's first match up was with Neo-Egypt's Anubis Gundam, which was a black, brown, and gold gundam with a dog-like mask on its classic gundam head, so that the gundam's head looked out through the mouth. As a weapon, the Anubis Gundam held a long stave that curled into a crook at the end, like those held by mummies but much longer. The stave was black and gold in a spiral along the shaft, and the dog head was black with gold eyes and markings here and there. After the preliminary 'Ready! GO!' that preceded all gundam fights, the Burning Gundam and the Anubis Gundam charged one another, the Anubis Gundam striking out first with its stave across the Burning Gundam's head. The gundam's head snapped to the side from the force of the blow, which was soon followed up by Anubis Gundam jamming its knee into Burning Gundam's stomach. Domon felt the pain stab into his stomach as he reeled backwards. He tried to strike at Anubis Gundam, but it ducked and swept the shaft of its stave under the Burning Gundam, knocking the gundam's legs away and causing it to fall on its back, where the Anubis Gundam brought the staff down on its head again and again. 

The fury began to build in Domon, he couldn't stand the thought of losing the fight, and so he lost control, punching through the staff that the Anubis Gundam wielded against him. The Burning Gundam leapt to its feet and, spinning, sent a powerful kick to the side of the Anubis Gundam's head, sending it reeling. Then, charging forward, Domon used the Burning Gundam to deliver a powerful blow to the Anubis Gundam's face with his fist, and then turned back on his momentum and brought his elbow into the side of the enemy gundam's head, sending it snapping to its left. Before the Anubis Gundam could retaliate, Domon quickly used the Burning Gundam to give it a swift uppercut to the stomach and then, grabbing the opponent gundam's head, slammed it down onto his quickly rising knee. The head hit it hard and bounced off, his gundam flipping backwards and landed on its back. As Domon's gundam loomed menacingly over the fallen enemy, the Anubis Gundam brought both its feet in a powerful kick to the Burning Gundam's head. However, quickly recovering from the shock of such a sudden and powerful blow, the Burning Gundam grabbed the attacking gundam by the leg and, placing his foot firmly on the Anubis Gundam's chest, ripped one of its legs off and began to pound at the Anubis Gundam with it. In intense pain, the Anubis Gundam tried to crawl away, but Domon wouldn't let it. In the heat of the fury that now consumed Domon, he stooped and lifted up the Anubis Gundam by the neck and, after it, because of the pilot inside, went limp, he punched through the head, without his classic Burning Finger. 

The ferocity with which he beat the Anubis Gundam became a signature of how ruthlessly he dealt with any gundam that crossed his path. He worked as hard as he could, trying to distract himself from the pain, and so he fought harder and harder, damaging his gundam as well as the others, and damaging himself through overexertion. He wanted nothing to remind him of Rain, and so deliberately avoided the rest of the Shuffle Alliance and did everything to forget and not talk about Rain, and his partner made that very easy for him, never speaking or complaining, just quickly and efficiently fixing the gundam for the next day's match. And Domon did find a way to have a gundam fight every day, for a day without fighting was a day where he might have thoughts of Rain. Though, however hard he might have tried to not think about her, she would always come to him in his dreams. 

The nightmares ravaged his mind every night, and they were often the same: of Domon sitting happily atop the crest of a green hill, warmed by the golden sun that cast down its heat from the cerulean sky… the same color as Rain's eyes while the sun reminded him of one of Rain's earrings. A cool breeze passed over him and the small field surrounding the hill, sending the grass--and the myriad of colored flowers that dotted the field and hill here and there--swaying like gentle waves in the ocean. A forest surrounded the field, and a few cherry blossoms drifted from trees hidden within this forest, to blow over the field and occasionally land on the emerald grass. A faint scent, flowers and grass mingling together, also blew in on the cooling wind. Domon would smile and recline on the tree… until he sensed something behind him. Not knowing what it was, or bothering to look, Domon would scramble down the hill, rolling over the moist grass. At the foot of the hill, he would look back up to see that it was only Rain, though she seemed to be in pain from his hasty retreat, tears beginning to well up in her beautiful eyes. Domon then only wanted to climb back up the hill and hold Rain close, to hug her and wipe away her tears… but his legs refused to move. He was trapped, unable to return while Rain grew more and more unhappy, slowly slinking away from the hillcrest. When Domon tried to call out to her, he would awake.

And while this dream was horrible for him, perhaps the most horrible one was merely a dream of him actually being close to her, holding her and smelling her perfume and the shampoo in her hair. Of holding her close and seeing her beautiful smile. But in the end the dream seemed to last for only a moment, cut short by his awakening and the tortured feeling of having just lost what was most dear to him, of it just being out of reach. The realization that it was all just a dream turned it to torture, rather than release. 

With the ferocity and sheer force of Domon's rage, a fury that made his Burning Gundam always seem to hover in his first kind of super mode, the one caused by anger rather than tranquility, but in this state Domon managed to pound through his opposition with superlative ease. But, unaware to Domon, his progress was closely watched by Gareth, though nothing as spectacular as in his last gundam fights happened. In truth, his current ascendance to the finals was rather uneventful, to Gareth's relief. It didn't seem like long before Domon and the Burning Gundam made it to Neo Tokyo and the gundam fight finals. However, though Domon didn't want to think about it, the rest of the Shuffle Alliance would also be in the finals. But, unbeknownst to Domon, Rain herself was also there. 

Rain walked through the night-locked streets of Neo Tokyo, the lights of the city draining the black sky of all its stars. Though it was late, people still walked through the streets, some clearly gundam fighters by the looks of them, just arriving in the city and trying to find a place to stay. Subconsciously, Rain searched the streets in the hope of finding Domon, though she was still questioning why he left; crying herself to sleep over his absence. She missed him, even though she felt she would never forgive him. Part of her longed for him to return, and another part promised her that she wouldn't let herself be hurt again. A cold wind blew about between the tall buildings and goose bumps formed all over Rain, especially where the cold wind washed over her bare legs. She shivered and clasped her arms around her in a vain attempt to warm herself. Feeling the night grow even colder, Rain hurried on her way to her hotel, but on the way she thought she saw Domon walking down the street… but upon looking she saw that it wasn't him; an occurrence that had been happening a lot since he left. 

It was a short while later that Rain checked into the warm, bright lobby of the hotel, decorated in a western fashion, with white walls and a red carpet. The lobby, edged with varnished wooden benches and a pair of reflective, metal elevator doors on the left from the wide glass entrance doors, was filled with people walking around and conversing; the discordant drone of a host of various voices filled the lobby and spilled out into the cold street, a harsh welcome for Rain as she opened the door and entered. She quickly walked up to the tall, lanky man behind the light wooden counter at the far end of the lobby, an old, balding man with a hawk nose and graying hair. His fingers were long and bony, his eyes though were clear and contemplative, peering out from under the shadows from their deep set position.

"Name?" he asked quickly, peering up at her with his deep, grayish eyes.

"Rain Mikamura," she responded quietly, looking down at the desk, almost scared of his eyes, as if they could see into her soul. Without responding, he handed her a keycard with 'Room 72' written on it. Rain took it and headed through the nearby elevator, with an antiquated look but a voice activated system, and entered her room just in time to miss Domon walking down the hallway and checking into room 76 just two doors down. Rain gazed out at the empty night sky through the window of her hotel room for a while, and then thoughts of Domon broke through her mental barriers and tears forced their way into her eyes, and, like she had for so many nights before, she cried herself to sleep. Because, even now, in the midst of her pain, she knew still that he was her true love. 

The next day, Domon quickly left his hotel room in order to find something to do so he didn't have to sit around and think of Rain. In the daytime, the streets of Neo Tokyo were filled with even more people than could be imagined. The discord of random voices filled the streets, and the whole city. People of every conceivable size, shape, and dress mingling into one huge crowd, one huge entity that was Neo Tokyo. Domon himself was almost glad to become part of this entity and lose himself in this crowd, as the dodging of people and the constant sound of talking made it almost impossible to think, and, therefore, think of Rain. His entire life had changed around his avoidance, shifted to accommodate his fear. Though he may have been considered by many one of the strongest and bravest people in the world, he had become a slave to his own fear. He had let it control him, and become, perhaps, one of the most pitiable people to exist. But it seemed to Gareth that only he saw this, and he feared for Domon's soul. So, in an attempt to protect Domon, he had arranged a few things and was now following Domon out of some sort of protective instinct. From personal experience, Gareth knew that it was at times that a person deserved sympathy the least, that they needed it the most… but people didn't care. People were always caught up in their own personal problems, however trivial, and seemed never to care about others, save those closest to them. 

Domon looked about, taking in the huge buildings, not that they were alien sights to him. The cerulean sky glowed warmly above, whitish clouds floating here and there, all in all a beautiful day. A few black clouds from smokestacks could be seen in the distance, but they didn't seem to corrupt the blue sky. The sun was beginning to reach high into the sky, nearly reaching a height that would show that the time was noon. It being nearly lunchtime, Domon was looking around in an attempt to find a restaurant and he soon entered a small building tucked away in one of the older parts of the city, between two buildings that were both many stories tall, though it was only one. Domon entered this incongruous building and saw only a few people eating at a couple of small tables. Behind the bar was the owner and proprietor of the establishment, a very pale man with light blond hair and grey eyes, almost monochromatic. He peered out at Domon through a pair of rectangular spectacles and a smile formed on his almost nonexistent lips.

"Well, well… you're Domon Kashu aren't you? I saw your last gundam fight… though I still lived in Neo America at the time. It's an honor to have you here," the man said, inciting no response from Domon. "Ah, the stoic type. Sit, have a drink, maybe a bite to eat. What'll you have?"

"What do you have to drink?" Domon asked.

Suddenly, the man lifted his head slightly and a glare swept across his glasses while another smirk formed on his face. "Why, everything," he responded happily, the corner of his spectacles catching the light in a tiny flash. 

"Sake," Domon selected, tersely. Rummaging beneath the bar, the man set an eight ounce cup on the counter, before starting to head into the back room. This prompted the question from Domon, "Isn't that a bit large?"

"Trust me," he began in a voice that made him seem omnipotent, "You'll need it.' With that, the man disappeared into the back room while Domon pondered his words. Even before the man returned, Domon heard someone enter the building and, looking back, saw that it was Rain who entered.

"Rain…" he said, though it refused to come out as any more than a hoarse whisper.

Needless to say, when he saw Rain, her sapphire eyes also caught sight of him, and she responded to this very similarly by whispering, "Domon…"

"Rain… what are you doing here? No… wait… I… I'm sorry Rain."

"Domon…"

"Rain, can you ever forgive me?"

"…why did you leave? I was so worried."

"I… I don't know… I… Can you forgive me?"

"…no." With that, Rain turned slowly, her eyes on the ground as she walked out of the small, dark building.

"But, Rain…" Domon called quietly after her, his voice breaking and his legs weakening. 

"You got what you deserved, bro," came a voice from behind Domon. Turning to look, Domon saw Sai Sici standing in the doorway to the back room.\

"What?" Domon asked him, confused.

"You hurt her Domon. And as much as I like you, you did something wrong. I have to side with sis on this. You have to pay when you do something stupid."

"And you know this from intimate experience right?" Domon grumbled in anger.

"Hey Japanese. Is that the first joke you've made ever?" asked Chibodee as he came through the door.

"Now what happened Domon? I saw Rain running away crying," George asked as he followed Chibodee into the restaurant. 

"Bro here left her a while back. Didn't you know?" Sai Sici responded.

"No," George answered, "Why would you do such a thing to mademoiselle Rain?"

"Oh, don't be that way French-y. He got his fun out of her and moved on. Can't say I blame him," Chibodee cut in. Suddenly, Domon was over at where Chibodee was leaning against the wall, lifting him off the ground in a death grip around his neck.

"Don't ever talk--even THINK about Rain that way or I will remove those nasty thoughts from your head the only way I can! Do you understand!?" Domon growled demonically into Chibodee's face, receiving a terrified nod from Chibodee in response. Domon then dropped Chibodee to the ground and turned away.

"Jeez Domon, you need to lighten up!" Chibodee said, turning from Domon and leaving.

"Chibodee…" Domon said, turning back.

"You know, you've changed bro. I'm leaving," Sai Sici said, disappearing into the back room.

"Wait… Sai…" Domon said, now turning to him.

"You sure know how to alienate your friends, Domon," George said.

"Stay out of this!"

"And you did it again. I've been waiting to see you, to tell you that I know who your next opponent is… the mysterious Celtic Gundam. I heard no one knows who the pilot is, and that he pulled some strings to face you first. But that's the last thing I'm going to say to you, because I vowed to tell you. Salú t."

"No, wait… George…" Domon said, but it was too late, George had already left. His head sinking, Domon slumped into his seat at the bar and looked down at the wooden countertop. As he sighed, the owner returned with a bottle of sake. "How did you know?"

"Sai Sici works here, and the others come in every day. So… how much?"

"Oh…" Domon sighed, slumping against the counter, "fill it up all the way to the top."


End file.
